Drew Wilson
A pair of Lee County lawmakers announced Thursday that they will file bills requiring school employees to take a course on youth suicide prevention.
The Senate version, SB 884, will be sponsored by Republican Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto and would add a two-hour suicide prevention course to continuing education requirements for elementary, middle and high school teachers.
“Each day in our nation there is an average of over 5,400 suicide attempts by young people grades 7-12, and evidence suggests many of these children began thinking about it even earlier,” Benacquisto said. “Florida must equip our teachers with the ability to identify at risk youth.”
Republican Rep. Dane Eagle will sponsor the House version of the bill, HB 907. The Cape Coral representative said he appreciates “Benacquisto’s leadership on the issue” and is “proud to work with her on this important legislation.”
“More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, birth defects, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined,” he said. “Youth suicide is preventable and the answer to building a successful youth suicide prevention program is education.”
Under the bill, school districts that already have a suicide prevention course would be allowed to continue using that material, though the bills would require training on how referring youths to mental health services. The bill also specifies that a suicide prevention course may not increase the total number of continuing education hours required by teachers.
